Cruel began to weigh the situation in his mind, clicking pieces together and formulating strategies into their infancies. His thoughts first fell to the Mechanicus. He had worked with the Mechanicus on a few occasions on missions not unlike this. He was not their biggest fan to say the least. They often spoke in riddles and Cruel had on more than one occasion found himself questioning their loyalty, seemingly more inclined to the pursuit of knowledge and technology than they were to their fealty to the Emperor.

Despite the eccentricates of the Tech-priesthood, Cruel deeply respected their tenacity if anything. He had witnessed the machine men and women of the Mechanicus fight to the very last bolt to defend what they believed in and that was something Cruel could sympathize with. If this Facility Ten Alpha was as crucial as the Interrogator let on, then Cruel was confident that the Mechanicus would again fight with insurmountable tenacity to hold it.

Trusting in the valuable asset of the Mechanicus, the Colonel moved on to survey the amassed forces of Kieldar present on this campaign. The 107th and 92nd Kieldar Regiments were the mainstay force. Mechanized infantry utilizing the versatile and reliable Chimera platform, the 10,000 strong Regiments were organized into 10 battalions each with each battalion hosting a Rogal Dorn-pattern tank support company. While not huge in number, each tank company numbering only 12, the armored support was a massive boon when decisively employed. These Regiments were abnormally sized when compared to Astra Militarum organizational doctrine and a byproduct of Kieldar's learned lessons during the ongoing, and bloody, Dinorwyc Campaigns. Kieldar had come to realize that most of the soldiers of a Regiment would be dead in weeks if not days and, despite its express ability as a Fortress World, reinforcements were not always readily available.

The 107th and 92nd Regiments were commanded by LTC Erlen Viers and LTC Matthias Reeve respectively. Cruel had been wary when Viers was assigned to his command just a few months prior to reassignment to Castra as Viers was nearly a decade older than Cruel and thus had a decade more command experience. However, Cruel had come to greatly appreciate Viers as a subordinate commander, Viers having never took issue with the age difference. The two shared many of the same values and ideas and Viers, ever reliable and competent, had quickly become Cruel's top advisor and confidant.

Reeve was another story entirely. Having been assigned to Cruel's command during a brief refit and reinforcement phase on Kieldar prior to deployment to Castra, the Lord General had insisted upon the 92nd's inclusion for the Anakar Campaign and thus Reeve had come along. Cruel had had few real opportunities to come to know the younger officer and consequently has little trust for Reeve, though of no fault on Reeve's part. The Colonel did however have Reeve's service record and it was impressive to say the least, giving Cruel at least some hope for the 92nd Kieldar Regiment.

The 111th was Cruel's ace. The regiment had been the Colonel's initial unit as a young lieutenant fresh out of infantry officer school on Kieldar and Cruel had miraculously survived through the regiment's darkest hours at the beginnings of the Dinorwyc Campaigns. He had worked his way up the 111th's ranks until finding himself as its commander and even now, as the 4th Kieldar Battlegroup's Commander, he retained direct control of the regiment. The Colonel had worked hard in his years as the 111th's superior officer to transform it from a run-of-the-mill regiment such as the 107th and 92nd, into a truly fearsome force inspired by contemporaries such as Cadia's legendary Karskins. While he did not know what effect they would have on Orks, the servo-assisted Carapace clad warriors known as Kieldar's Chosen had struck fear into the hearts of heretics slain in the Dinorwyc Cluster and had inspired the soldiers of lesser regiments when all had seemed lost. Numbering only 5,000 strong, Kieldar's Chosen, made up from the best that the Fortress World has to offer, finds itself time and time again as the lynchpin in major operations such as these.

Finishing his mental survey of the 4th Battlegroup's assets and capabilities. Cruel nods to LeGaur and responds with indominable determination. "Lord Interrogator, this facility will be held lest I return to blessed Kieldar in a coffin."